When Liverpool play Real Madrid in five weeks’ time, the fixture will be laced with subplots and narratives, particularly regarding one player who’ll feature on the night if he’s available.
Just over eight years on from his senior Reds debut, Trent Alexander-Arnold is now the vice-captain of his boyhood club and is at a level where he’s become the subject of relentless speculation over a possible move to the reigning European champions.
The 26-year-old is just over eight months away from the end of his current LFC contract and, should he not sign an extension by January, prospective suitors would be free to approach him about a possible deal at that point.
Dean Jones issues Liverpool warning over Trent
Transfer insider Dean Jones claimed that, despite reports from Spain of a potential winter raid, Real Madrid are happy to wait until the end of the season to snap up Trent on a free from Liverpool.
There had been rumours from various Spanish outlets during the recent international break that the England international wouldn’t sign a new contract at Anfield, with that line of reporting understood to have annoyed Merseyside chiefs.
Jones told the Ranks FC Podcast: “That’s a little bit aggressive from Madrid really. Liverpool don’t like it, but they’re putting a deaf ear to it for now and just ignoring any noise that is coming their way from Spain.
“The problem is that, as I was told when I spoke to someone at the end of last week, they said, the thing is, Liverpool and Real Madrid play each other at the end of November, and that’s when the playbook will come out.
“They’ll build up around that game. That’s when the machine will start to turn on again and there’ll be more headlines around Trent if he hasn’t signed his Liverpool contract. Liverpool still have some hope, some belief that he will.”
Get Trent’s contract sorted before then, Liverpool!
As if Real Madrid’s record against Liverpool over the past decade wasn’t enough to instil a sense of dread among some Reds fans coming up to that fixture, the narrative around Trent’s future could also be rather unwelcome and unhelpful.
By the time that game comes around on 28 November, the right-back could be just over a month away from Los Blancos being free to approach him about a pre-contract agreement, unless of course he signs a new deal at Anfield in the meantime.
There’s still five weeks between now and the meeting against Carlo Ancelotti’s side for that to happen, and the obvious hope is that our number 66 will put pen to paper before then, duly quelling the speculation about his future once and for all.
The dream scenario? Trent has extended his Liverpool contract before the Real Madrid match and goes on to score the winning goal against them!